The Webster Dictionary describes teamwork as “work done by several associates with each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to the efficiency of the whole.” But, what if teamwork was more than just one person being assigned a small task to complete? What if teamwork could be used to motivate, inspire and help each individual in a team feel more connected to the people around them in order to produce an even better result?
My name is Billy Clifford and for the past 19 years I have been apart of organized sports teams, organizational and professional teams, and most recently, apart of the Michael Sgro Success Manager Team which has been an amazing opportunity to learn not only about myself but more importantly about others. Which is precisely the same way I look at working within teams. Working in a team is not only about you, the individual, completing a task in order to fulfill a certain requirement.
It is about you, the individual, connecting and growing with the members of your team in order to build trust, and a relationship with the team members and that is when your work will yield its greatest results. I’ve witnessed this first hand through my years of playing baseball. Although I’ve been around teams my entire life, I must admit, this way of viewing teamwork is relatively new to me. In all honesty it actually all hit me on the top of a mountain, let me tell you a little story.
As we made the hike through the woods we were chipper about our adventure. Relatively new to hiking, we felt like we're exploring uncharted territory. As we were about 4 hours into our 10 hour hike one of my two friends looked at me and said “This is amazing but, I really do not think I could have done it alone or without you guys, being around people makes everything better.” At the time I did not think of it much, I just said “I feel the same way.” As we reached the mountain we began to get tired, we were losing energy, running low on food and water and there was still the toughest part of our climb ahead of us. No one said anything but we were beginning to feel that we bit off more than we could chew.
Every time someone stopped the other two people would stop with them take in the new and improved view we had and wait until the person was ready. Patience was key here, something that I am not the best at. Lucky one of our friends is and I saw first hand just what being patient can do in a stressful situation.
Eventually on the 7th hour of our trip we climbed up over the peak to witness the most 
astounding view any of us have ever witnessed. Exhausted we collapsed laughing and using what little energy we had left to show our excitement. As I stopped and looked over the view of one of the tallest peaks in New York my friends voice from earlier popped into my head, ““This is amazing but, I really do not think I could be doing this alone, having you guys here just makes everything better.” And boy was she right, without us working as a team, giving advice where to step, how to conserve water, and making each other feel comfortable in times when we felt too overwhelmed, we would have never reached the peak of that mountain.
I feel that this is almost a perfect metaphor for teamwork! Sometimes we get so caught up in what we are doing that we forget the people around us are our biggest asset. No matter your experience, or how big you think a task is, working and building relationships with others will allow you to climb your mountain.
